Table of Contents
Introduction
The Black Lives Mater BLM is an internationally recognized movement that acts as an awareness campaign against racism, inequality and discrimination that blacks have been facing in the United States (Tillery, 2019). It is a movement that allows the voices of blacks to be heard and illuminated as a single and united front, with the hope that changes will be incorporated in the world for their equality. According to Edgar & Johnson (2018), black people in the United States have always been discriminated against because of their skin color and received unequal treatment accompanied by oppression, which could be traced back to the slavery period. Despite the world undergoing much developments and globalization being a critical element that allows people to interact despite their geographical borders, blacks in the US continue facing discrimination in the form of killings, unequal opportunities in the corporate world and an unfair criminal justice system.
Relevance
The BLM matters due to the comfort and backup it gives blacks. Tillery (2019) claimed that the BLM allows blacks, irrespective of their financial or economic background to come together and pool their ideas as they seek an alternative way in which to air their grievances. Black people have always been under the threat of the police who brutally murder them, and with the law enforcers being individuals expected to protect the wellbeing of all people, it becomes hard for blacks to get an impartial system. Edgar & Johnson (2018) argued that reporting a killing of a black person to the police unit, yet one of the officers has committed the crime means that getting justice or being heard is almost impossible.
The BLM is not only for activists, rather, it is a movement that encourages the black community to raise awareness about the issues they face. Updegrove et al. (2020) stated that drawing attention to the grievances of the black persons, and encouraging relevant stakeholders that are supposed to cater and counter the unfair treatment and inequality they have been facing. As a modern Civil Rights Movement, the BLM is mainly driven by a non-racist and anti-police agenda that advocates for the betterment of the black lives (Updegrove et al., 2020). This is despite the past racial injustices that have not been addressed. The BLM central beliefs are to bring together blacks, and send a message to the world at large, as the name of the movement suggests, that the lives of black people also matters (Tillery, 2019). Families of black people that have lost their lives have not received any form of compensation or the perpetrators receiving some form of punishment for their actions.
Impact
The BLM brings to attention how the threat and injustice of a single community affects an entire race as a whole. Clayton (2018) affirmed that the black community, since the slavery trade period, have always lived their lives with uncertainty which makes it almost impossible for them to lead quality lives. Access to equal opportunities for all persons, irrespective of their race means that justice has been attained. An end to police brutality means that the black people will have confidence in the law enforcers as they can respond to their pleas whenever they face a challenge (Updegrove et al., 2020). The BLM entity is a show of resilience and commitment to ensure that blacks will get consideration and that the oppression they continually face will come to an end one day (Tillery, 2019). The main perpetrators of the violence are mainly white people who dominate the main organizations and societies that are supposed to provide some impartial services to all persons.
The BLM matters since it is an organization that demands for equality amongst black persons, taking into consideration that there have been injustices in the past that have continued to affect how the blacks live. Edgar & Johnson (2018) stated that the BLM movement is not brutal in nature and since it mainly uses social media channels to advocate and pass its main agendas, it is able to attract and retain the attention of blacks and encourage them to speak out against the inequalities they face in the society. Racial inequalities and modern day slavery acts that have shaped the attitude, behavior and treatment that blacks receive from the whites needs to be ended (Clayton, 2018). The unfair systems that makes blacks to be on the receiving end makes it hard for them to lead quality lives as there is always the constant fear of the unknown.
Conclusion
The BLM is relevant and important in the modern day as it has been at the forefront to end the slavery attitudes and treatments that black people have been receiving in the past. Police officers have been the main perpetrators of violence against black persons, which is then reflected in the court systems as there is no justice. People that have been killed have lost their lives without any form of justice being given to their families. This means that all blacks are at risk of being maimed, which justifies the existence of the movement.
- Clayton, D. M. (2018). Black lives matter and the civil rights movement: A comparative analysis of two social movements in the United States. Journal of Black Studies, 49(5), 448-480.
- Edgar, A. N., & Johnson, A. E. (2018). The struggle over black lives matter and all lives matter. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Tillery, A. B. (2019). What kind of movement is Black Lives Matter? The view from Twitter. Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 4(2), 297-323.
- Updegrove, A. H., Cooper, M. N., Orrick, E. A., & Piquero, A. R. (2020). Red states and Black lives: Applying the racial threat hypothesis to the Black Lives Matter movement. Justice Quarterly, 37(1), 85-108.